Jessica Chastain teases X-Men: Dark Phoenix role with cheeky jab at James McAvoy

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The Oscar-nominated actress flicked at her role in the upcoming X-Men: Dark Phoenix film, in which she’s reportedly set to play a villain. Chastain took to Instagram on Tuesday and used the post to rib one particular fellow: pal and costar James McAvoy, who plays Charles Xavier in the franchise.

“@jamesmcavoyrealdeal you ready for me up in Montreal? Im gonna make you cry so hard,” she wrote, adding the hashtag #xmen and tagging the film’s director, Simon Kinberg.

Based on one of comic-dom’s most acclaimed and mythic storylines, Dark Phoenix follows the saga of mutant Jean Grey (played by Turner) as she begins to tap the full force of her powers as a telepath and telekinetic — a terrifying transformation that slowly corrupts her and mobilizes the X-Men to try to save her. (The Dark Phoenix storyline was meagerly tackled by 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, with Famke Janssen playing an older version of an ill-fated Jean Grey.)

Chastain and the film’s studio, 20th Century Fox, have remained mum about who exactly Chastain will play, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress is set to take on the role of Lilandra, the empress of an alien race who is determined to thwart and imprison Dark Phoenix.

Chastain’s ribbing of McAvoy shouldn’t come as a surprise: The two are longtime pals and worked together on 2013’s The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.

The actress’ Instagram post comes amid fervent chatter surrounding another role in the film: young Jean Grey. Speculation recently kicked into high gear that newcomer Summer Fontana (The Originals) has been cast after the 8-year-old tweeted a photo from Montreal, where the film is shooting. Her name also popped up on the movie’s IMDb page.